The Hair Cut
by Writer25
Summary: It had been a prank gone wrong involving a locker, bubblegum, and a waterfall of carefully groomed long, blonde hair that just so happened to be attached to the scariest girl in Hillwood. The outcome of these events made Arnold's knees nearly buckle. Short story. Arnold and Helga.
1. Chapter 1

Arnold hadn't been there when it happened, but he had heard the explosion from two halls over. No, seriously. The sound was like two mack trucks colliding into an opera house full performers. He jumped, his papers and textbooks flying out of his hands and scattering across the floor. Everyone in the hallways momentarily froze at the sudden sound before resuming their previous activities.

 _What the heck was that?_ He wondered gathering his things. _I hope no one got hurt._

"Come on, let's see the carnage!"

Two freshmen rushed by, heading towards the direction the commotion came from. Curiosity overcame Arnold as well and he followed them. As he drew closer, he began to hear someone screaming curses and cringed. Arnold would know that voice anywhere. Pushing through to the front of the crowd, he froze when he witnessed the scene before him. Helga was being bodily lifted and carried away by Patty, kicking, and screaming, and cursing something fierce. Phoebe clung to Patty's arm trying in vain to calm her down. Sid and Stinky clung to each other in terror, obviously the target of Helga's rage while Harold slumped against the lockers unconscious next to suspiciously Harold-shaped dent in the mental.

"Man you totally missed it!" Gerald exclaimed popping up next to him, "Those three finally signed their death warrants. They put _gum_ in Helga's _hair_!"

"Gum!?" Arnold's stomach immediately dropped. Ever since seventh grade, for some unknown reason, Helga had ditched her pigtails and began wearing her hair loose. Four years later, it now reached the small of her back. Or, at least it had. It was obvious that Helga had gone through a lot of trouble growing it out that long. No wonder she was so furious. But as much as Arnold wanted to lend a hand in consoling her, he had his own personal safety to worry about. He would definitely wait until after she settled down a bit.

The bell rang as Helga was carried out of site and the student body dissipated to their classes. Arnold walked beside Gerald as they headed to Western Civ.

"So which one of them did it?" Arnold asked. "Was it Harold? It looked like she slammed him against the lockers pretty hard."

"Man I don't even know. They set it up so the gum would explode from her locker. She just happened to turn her head at the wrong time." Gerald snickered. "You gotta love this prank war they got going on."

"I don't know Gerald. Helga seemed really upset. I hope she's not hurt."

Gerald scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. It was clear that he could care less about Helga's well-being. Sitting in class though, Arnold couldn't stop worrying about her. Her screams had been especially vicious sounding with an underlying tone of panic. Which meant that his earlier assumption was right about her being attached to her hair. The question came to mind of exactly when he became able to read the tone of Helga's voice so well, but the more pressing question was when did Helga care about her hair so much? Before she wore it out, her hairstyle choice had been two low pigtails with a tattered gray beanie on top. It could have been attributed to her wanting a new look, but she never changed her customary jeans, t-shirt, and combat boots that she wore since the end of middle school.

Well, whatever the reason, Arnold just hoped that Helga would be okay. They weren't exactly close, but she seemed to have mellowed towards him since they began high school. As a matter of fact, she behaved downright friendly towards him most of the time. As friendly as Helga got anyway. "Football head" became more of an affectionate nickname than an insult and she had gone from disgusting spit balls to flying rubber bands. Okay so the last one wasn't so much an upgrade, but at least it was more playful than spiteful.

As soon as his class ended, Arnold made up his mind to find Helga and make sure she was okay. Maybe he could even offer to take her to the movies or out to dinner? Arnold suddenly smiled. Helga was probably the only girl he actually enjoyed going to the movies or out to eat with. She didn't care about eating messy, greasy food in front of him or watching gory, violent, or scary movies with him. Unlike his two previous girlfriends, he actually had a lot of fun with Helga.

But Arnold saw no sign of Helga in the hallway as he changed out his books for his next class. Nor did he see her after his last class let out. He waited by her locker but she didn't even show up there. Sticky, pink gum still oozed from the vents. After a few minutes though, Arnold spotted Phoebe walking by with twice the amount of paper in her arms.

"Hey Phoebe," he waved her down, "Have you seen Helga?"

"Oh," Phoebe frowned and fiddled with her glasses, "I'm afraid she went home after the, um, gum incident. She was rather upset."

"Oh," Arnold frowned too. Seems like he was looking forward to taking her to the movies more than he realized. "Well… do you know how she is? She seemed really upset. I didn't realize she cared about her hair that much."

"Well, it was a rather humiliating experience for her." Phoebe pointed out, "Anyways, I'm sure she'll be in school tomorrow. See you later, Arnold."

"See ya." Arnold waved half-heartedly and headed out of school alone. Guess he would have to ask her out tomorrow… to make sure she was okay of course.

Tomorrow came and went though and there was no Helga. No stomping down the hall, no playful insults or rubber bands. Not even a hurricane of rage and fury. Arnold was surprised at how empty the school was without her. The day after that fared the same. Sid, Stinky, and Harold (the last sporting a neck brace and a black eye) crept around the hallway like mice, but no avenging blonde, fiery angel of death descended on them. On the third day, Arnold made up his mind to go to Helga's house himself if she didn't show up today.

"I'll just walk right up to her door and ask how she's doing." He rehearsed at his locker. "If she's still pissed I'll take her to an action movie. It'll be cathartic. Or give her ideas on how to get payback." Arnold briefly shuddered at the thought but continued. "And if she's in a better mood, I'll take her out to eat. That should keep her in a good mood."

Again the thought made Arnold happy. Just the two of them hanging out would be nice. Maybe they would end up talking and he could find out why the sudden change in hair style.

Satisfied, Arnold closed his locker, turned to walk away, and knocked shoulders with someone who was hurrying by.

"Sorry," He called over his shoulder to the stranger.

"Watch where you're going next time football head!" Came the familiar response.

Arnold quickly snapped his head around but only saw an unfamiliar girl walking away. She was tall and statuesque, with curves to her hips and long legs clad in jeans. Her soft blond hair was cut shoulder length in choppy layers.

"Wait," Arnold blinked again and called out before she could disappear too far into the flood of students, "Helga?"

She paused and turned her head for only the briefest of moments before hurrying on again, but those intense blue eyes and unibrow had already given her away.

"Helga wait up!" Arnold hurried after her, not caring if he was late for class. "I almost didn't recognize you."

Moving a little ahead of her, Arnold could see that her hair cut framed her face accentuating angles at he never knew were there. The new short length also revealed curves that were no longer hidden by her waterfall of hair.

"You look beautiful." Arnold breathed before he could stop himself. "That haircut looks great on you."

Helga froze and whirled on him so suddenly that, he almost ran into her again. At first he thought she was going to hit him, but her fiery blue eyes softened into something resembling vulnerability.

"You um, actually like it?" She mumbled touching a hand to it. "I had to cut it because of those three bozos. Speaking of which, I outta-"

"It's beautiful." _Your beautiful._ The words almost came out of his mouth but Arnold stopped them in time. Where did that come from?

The warning bell rang and Helga suddenly looked impatient and uncomfortable.

"So, um, did you need something else?" She asked him gruffly. "You already checked up on me so you did your civic duty already."

"Actually yeah, I wanted to…" Ask her to dinner, that was the plan. If she was still upset take her to the movies, and if she wasn't take her to dinner. As friends. Just to make her happy. Because he was her friend.

But as Arnold stared at her, he felt his mouth go dry and his stomach clenched. The hair cut seemed to make her edgier, sexy even. It more than complimented her, it magnified her

Helga narrowed her eyes and a wary look appeared behind her annoyed expression. A hand drifted up to subconsciously touch her hair. Finally, her shoulders dropped and she walked away.

"Whatever, Arnoldo."

She disappeared inside her classroom just as the hallways emptied out leaving Arnold to stare blankly where she had been. What the heck just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

_7_ _th_ _grade:_

 _"Can you believe that in two years we'll actually be in high school?" Arnold asked wistfully. "I wonder if we'll feel older by then."_

 _Beside him, Helga scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I already feel old."_

 _Arnold chuckled and looked over at her. Back in fifth grade he would have never guessed that he and Helga would become good friends. As a matter of fact, it had only happened through the sheer coincidence that their two best friends had gone on vacation over the summer. Without their closest friends, they had no choice but to entertain each other for the entire summer. At the end of it, they kept their friendship going strong. The summer had allowed them to connect and get to know each other like they never had before. Even now they were eating lunch together in the cafeteria; Phoebe and Gerald had a different lunch period._

 _"You shouldn't feel old; you still stuff yourself with junk food like a kid." Arnold chuckled and fondly tugged on one of her low hanging pigtails. Helga had ditched pink dresses in favor of jeans and pink t-shirts but her hair style had remained the same._

 _"Cut it out," Helga's face reddened and she knocked his hand away, "Geez what did I tell you about touching me all the time football head! Don't think just because we're friends doesn't mean I won't pound you."_

 _"Whatever you say, Hel…" Arnold's voice trailed off as_ she _walked by._

 _He had only talked to her twice but he was already half in love with her. Veronica Taylor. She was a grade ahead of him but the shared an advanced math class together._

 _"Hello, Earth to football head," Helga waved a hand in front of his face and then elbowed him hard._

 _"Ow!" Arnold rubbed his sore arm. "What was that for?"_

 _"For spacing out on me, doi. What were you staring at anyway?"_

 _Before he could stop himself, Arnold smiled. A year ago Helga would have been the last person he would confide anything in, especially about a crush. But now he freely, if sheepishly, confessed to her about his crush on Veronica. Her light airy laughter, how nice she was, and the way her long beautiful brown hair swayed as she walked._

 _"I dunno, she sounds kind of bland to me." Helga bit her lip and began toying with one of her own pigtails. "Is here hair really that pretty for you to go all ga ga over her?"_

 _Arnold only rolled his eyes. He was so used to Helga's sardonic tone that it didn't even bother him anymore. "As a matter of fact, it is. But it's not like I'd ever get the nerve to talk to her. Are we still on for the movies tonight?"_

 _"What?" Helga gave him a blank look. It was clear she hadn't heard a word he'd said. But before Arnold could repeat himself the bell rang and Helga took off, not even waiting for him._

* * *

Arnold didn't see Helga again until second period, their shared Environmental Science class. He slid into his regular seat, distracted with thoughts of her. For some reason his mind went back to seventh grade. They had been good friends once, a long time ago. At least they spent the summer together he remembered that much. But some day, he couldn't pin point exactly when, Helga just stopped talking to him. Well, not completely, she didn't give him the cold shoulder, but she no longer came to his house, or called him on the phone, or stopped by his locker just to talk. At first it really bothered him, but he soon became so busy that the drift became natural. It didn't feel so natural any more.

Seconds before the bell rang, there was some activity right outside the hall and Helga rushed in looking flushed and harried. Arnold immediately perked up and moved his stuff over, sending her a clear signal to sit with him. Helga's eyes locked on to his and she immediately sat down next to Lila instead. Arnold frowned but before he could decide whether or not just to go over there, the teacher walked in and class officially begun. He tried to pay attention, he really did, but Helga was distracting him.

The first thing he noticed was her neck. Long and slim, gently sloping to her shoulders. Soft looking tendrils of her hair brushed against the curve where her neck met her shoulder. Did she brush her hair so that it would curl that way or was it just naturally curly? Did the hair tickle or was it like the caress of a butterfly wing? Next Arnold's eyes traveled over her shoulders and down her back; she was lithe but not tiny. His gaze, however unwilling, traveled unhindered over the lines of her back, waist, and hips. A smooth line with gentle curves.

Suddenly, Helga started to turn and Arnold forced his eyes up front again, terrified that she had caught him staring. But when his eyes flickered back over to her, he was relieved to find that she had only turned to say something to Lila. Whatever she said made Lila giggle and nod. She then reached out and tucked some of Helga's hair behind her ear.

Arnold's knuckles popped as his fingers tightened on his pencil. Since when did Helga let anyone touch her, especially Lila!? Helga barely spoke to him anymore and yet she was best friends with Lila of all people!? Wait… what? Why was he getting all worked up? Helga being civil to Lila was a good thing. So what if Helga only spoke to him once or twice a week? After class, Arnold would get a chance to talk to Helga again and finally ask her to a movie _and dinner._ That should put him back in Helga's good graces. And maybe that would lead to them reconcile their somewhat dormant friendship.

 _"I've been meaning to tell you; your hair looks beautiful." Arnold smiled at her over the lit candles between them. "That haircut makes you look absolutely ravishing."_

 _"Thanks, Arnold," Helga blushed and averted those crystal blue eyes of hers. She was pretty when she blushed, when she was shy. The candle light made her eyes sparkle and turned her hair into soft gold._

 _A strand of that soft gold fell against Helga's cheek. Without needing to even think about it, Arnold wrapped that strand around his finger, feeling its soft, silkiness. The only thing glowing more radiant right now was Helga's smile as she looked at him._

" _Helga," Arnold whispered, "there's been something I've been meaning to tell you…"_

The teacher suddenly called on him making Arnold jolt right out of his daydream. He stumbled for answer, wrong of course, and had to endure the titters that followed. Once the attention was back on the teacher again, Arnold relaxed and went back to his thoughts. That was definitely not the dinner he had pictured. Like he'd ever be brave enough to call Helga "ravishing" to her face—er, um, at all for that matter.

But…his eyes drifted over to her again and that was the only word that came to mind. Helga was turned in her chair at just the right angle for him to see her profile. Without that familiar waterfall of blonde hair, her profile was more pronounced than ever. Her expressive upturned lips curved downward into her default annoyed, bored frown, but her sapphire eyes were deep in thought. Never before had Arnold been able to read Helga's face so well from a distance. It usually took him pestering her and her being in his face before he could see anything past her scowl. Arnold wondered if he would get the opportunity to see more.

As soon as the bell rung though, Helga was out of the classroom before he could even finish gathering his things. He was determined to catch up with her though and practically knocked three people over to get out the classroom.

"Helga!" Arnold called her name as she rounded the corner.

For a split second he could have sworn—no, he knew Helga flicked her eyes in his direction but she walked right away from him. The hallway was packed with students but he could still spot her in the crowd. Which meant he had a good view of some guy in a letterman jacket drape his arm around Helga's shoulders. Again, a burning tendril of jealousy went through Arnold as he slowed his steps and watched them. He recognized the guy. He chased around shallow, vapid girls. What the heck made him think that he could flirt with Helga like that too?

"Back off, buddy!" Helga yelled and elbowed him away. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone creep?"

"Come on babe, don't be that way. It's not like you got a boyfriend. Or do you prefer girls?"

Helga's already blazing eyes deepened with fury and her lip curled into a ferocious snarl. Arnold saw in an instant that she was about to punch him in the face. And as much as he would have loved to see that, Arnold decided to step in before Helga got herself expelled for fighting.

"Hey, Helga," He quickly caught up and moved in between them. "We're still on for tonight right? Dinner and a movie?"

He smiled up at Helga, expecting her to give him a relieved smile in return. Instead, she turned her scowl to him. But beneath the anger in eyes there was now an echo of hurt.

"Both of you go take a hike!" She declared and walked away from them both with her head held high.

Arnold's smile fell as he watched her walk away. What had he done wrong? He was saving her from the creep, not being a creep. And why had she seemed… hurt? He was determined to ask her, but Helga always redirected her gaze when their eyes met. When she wasn't swarmed by other guys that was. Each guy that spoke to her made her scowl harder but her shoulders drop further. Arnold might never have noticed if he wasn't staring at her every chance he got.

"Man, what is wrong with you?" Gerald asked him at their lockers. "Why are you scoping out Pataki so hard man? I know she got hot overnight and all but-"

"Is that why guys are droning after her?" Arnold craned his head to see Helga run into the girls' room to escape such guys. "That's so shallow and horrible! I can't believe they'd do that."

Gerald scoffed and gave him a look. "Sound familiar?"

Arnold never got a chance to ask what he meant before the bell rang and Helga rushed out of the bathroom. As she sped past him, the unmistakable shimmer of tears glistened in her eyes. Without even so much as a good bye to Gerald, Arnold rushed after her.

"Helga wait!"

Again she turned toward him for a split second, but this time Arnold managed to catch her arm. She whirled on him in anger, her face flushed and her eyes still glistening.

"What do you want, Shortman?" Helga snapped. "I'm gonna be late for class."

"Let's cut. Together." Arnold said breathlessly before he could stop himself. "W-we can meet in the courtyard or up on the roof."

Helga's eyes searched his for a moment and became wary. "Why? Since when do you cut class?"

"I… just wanted to talk to you," Arnold could feel his resolve slipping, being quickly replaced with annoyance. "Why do you always have to treat me like those scum bags who've been chasing you all day?"

"Excuse you!" Helga snatched herself out of his grip. "You're one of those scum bags!"

"Me!?"

"Yeah you!"

"All I've ever been is nice to you Helga. Why are you calling me a scum bag?"

"Because you just like all these other guys who're only talking to me because of this stupid hair cut!"

"Are you kidding me? I was going to ask you out before then!"

Arnold immediately froze at his unintentional outburst. Helga's eyes widened but the wariness was still there. The hallway was completely empty by this point, but Arnold didn't even think about going to class now. Slowly, Helga let out a breath and her shoulders dropped.

"Liar," She murmured, reaching a hand up to toy with her hair. "You barely spoke to me before. Why would you want to hang out now with my hair so short like this?"

Arnold tilted his head, now thoroughly confused. "What does your hair have anything to do with this?"

Helga glanced up at him and gave him a mirthless smile. "Ask Veronica Taylor."

Before he could ask her what she meant by that, a hall monitor turned the corner and Helga disappeared inside her classroom.

 **AN- Now officially a three shot.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hair cut or no, at the end of the day Helga was still Helga. She walked through the halls like she dared anyone to try and get in her way. Those electric blue eyes of hers flashed with defiance and her lips curled in a ready scowl. In a total change from yesterday, most guys kept their distance from her. Helga Pataki was sending out a clear message for no one to mess with her, and everyone was paying attention.

Arnold watched her from a distance. Last night it had taken him hours to find Veronica Taylor's picture in one of his yearbooks. The picture brought back vague memories of an old crush that went nowhere. He still had no idea why Helga had mentioned her in the first place, but he had the faint impression that was when he and Helga started drifting apart. He shouldn't have let it happen, he regretted it now.

Helga suddenly flicked her eyes in his direction and scowled. "What the heck are you looking at football head?"

Arnold jumped a little at the ferocity of her snarl and the challenging fire in her eyes. He had almost forgotten how intimidating she could be. But instead of cowering Arnold met her glare with a smile.

"Nothing. You just look nice again today. That's all." He stated simply.

A light blush colored Helga's cheeks before she scoffed and turned away. It made Arnold smile harder. She didn't have any hair to hide her expression anymor and that made her all the more attractive. Not just physically either. He had almost forgotten that beyond the bully he sometimes feared, Helga had been a puzzle he wanted to solve. All he had to do was take his time and work his way back into her good graces again.

Today was actually the day they shared a class and lunch together. First period was U.S History class. Helga was already sitting in her usual seat by the time Arnold made it in. He hesitated when he saw the empty seat next to her but chose a desk two rows down instead. Helga's eyes met his for a brief moment and he could read the wariness behind her blasé expression. But Arnold just smiled at her and pretended to turn his attention to his notebook. She was still wary of him; it wouldn't do him any good to crowd her too soon. During class though Arnold was free to watch her as long as she didn't notice him doing it. Turns out she had a new habit of twirling her pen in the ends of her hair when she got bored. The blonde strands slipped around end of the pen easily.

"Arnold," the teacher called suddenly, "maybe you would like to tell everyone the significance of the Federalist Papers?"

He jumped and began stammering for answer. "U-um, well, they were written by Alexander Hamilton, and uh…James Madison…"

"It promoted the ratification of the constitution." Helga spoke up. "Geez football head, get your head out of the clouds."

A titter of laughter went around the room which the teacher silenced before turning back to the blackboard. Arnold turned to thank Helga but a folded piece of paper hit him square on his nose. By the annoyed glare she was giving him, Arnold knew that it had to be from Helga.

 _Quit staring at me geek!_

Arnold gave her a sheepish smile and a shrug. Looking down at his notes, he realized that the page was filled with beautiful eyes drawn with blue ink.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is this seat taken?"

Helga groaned and looked up at him. "Haven't you harassed me enough already? The other guys have given up the chase. When are you?"

"Who said I'm chasing you?" Arnold smiled and sat down with his lunch tray. "Can't a friend just hang out with a friend?"

"No."

"Well I am."

Helga eyed him suspiciously before shrugging. "Whatever floats your boat, Shortman."

He breathed a sigh of relief and poked at the meatloaf on his tray. It was a weird brown/gray color but he had seen weirder with his grandmother's cooking.

"You know what this reminds me of?" He chuckled poking the meatloaf with a fork. "That week when Grandma made nothing but _interesting_ meatloaves for dinner."

Helga gave a reluctant giggle. "Yeah. I have to hand it to the old lady though; pine nuts, ground turkey, and guacamole make an interesting meatloaf."

"She always did love how you didn't turn and run from her cooking." Arnold took a bite of his food and chose his next words carefully. "You know, if you want I can probably get her make something tonight if you want to come over…"

"Where's Gerald?" Helga asked instead. "Tall hair boy ditch you? Is that why you're eating lunch with me?"

She was giving him that cynical look, her eyes intensely focused on him. Arnold gave returned her look with an easy smile.

"He's over there." Arnold gestured to the other side of the cafeteria. "Is it really that hard to believe that I chose to eat with you instead today? We used to eat together all the time."

Helga's expression softened a little and another unwilling smile came to her lips. "That was a long time ago, Arnoldo."

"It wasn't that long ago. But… maybe I did kind of let things go after a while. And… I'm sorry-"

"Oh jeez, you're so corny, football head." Helga sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Did all of your airhead girlfriends fall for this garbage?"

Arnold laughed. As a matter of fact, all two of his past girlfriends did fall for this line of cheesiness. He wouldn't admit it out loud to Helga, but that was the real reason he didn't date that much. No other girl would call him out like Helga did. No one else would scoff at him in that sarcastic way that Helga does and still make him laugh.

The lunch bell rang all too soon. Helga gave him a sidelong glance before standing up to dump her tray. She hesitated though and gave him a small teasing smile.

"You gonna stalk me to my locker or have you had enough of me for today?" She asked.

Arnold felt his face stretch into a grin and he stood up too. "Nope. I can walk you to class too if you want."

"Whatever Shortman."

More than one set of eyes followed them as they walked through the hall together. Arnold somehow managed to keep up with Helga's powerful stride, though she wasn't snarling anymore. A small smile lit her face and Arnold decided that he could definitely get used to her smiling more often. When they reached her locker, he steeled his nerves and tried one more time.

"So um," Arnold started shyly. "No pressure or anything, but um, I would still like to take you to the movies this weekend. My treat."

The smile left Helga's face and she looked at him cautiously. Her eyes searched him and Arnold felt completely exposed by her gaze. But he held her eyes and looked at her with nothing but sincerity. He didn't want to do this just because she could stop his heart with one look; there was something much more than that.

"As friends?" Helga suggested after a while. "I ain't promising nothing more than that, Arnold. You have to earn it."

"Friends." Arnold agreed with an eager nod. "For now at least."

A light blush spread across Helga's face and she punched him in the shoulder. "Keep dreaming, hair boy."

"Always."

After exchanging numbers, the bell rang and they went their separate ways down the hall. There was a lighter feeling in Arnold's step as he walked to his own locker. Friendship felt like a great start for a relationship.

 **A/N- I think I'm just now realizing how difficult it is to write beginnings of Arnold/Helga romantic relationship. I make no more promises about how long this story will be now. I'll come back and forth to this one in between writing "Iced Coffee" and "Untitled"**


	4. Chapter 4

Arnold shuffled his foot nervously as he stood outside the theater. He didn't know why he was nervous though. He had been to the movies with Helga more times than he could count. As a matter of fact, it had once been their Monday night ritual. Something that Arnold had come up with himself to shake Helga out of the gloom of another long week of school. But now was different. Arnold could _feel_ how different this was. He spent a good two hours getting ready. Showering, picking out _just_ the right pair of jeans and t-shirt (trying to be casual enough to not alarm her, but still impress her), and a solid hour doing his hair. Every ten minutes he would glance nervously at the clock, terrified what would happen to him if he was so much as five minutes late.

But he ended up arriving at the theater in good enough time which led him to his current state of nervous excitement. Butterflies danced in his stomach but it also felt happy. Hopeful even. Even if nothing came of their "hanging out", he was still spending alone time with her.

"S'up Arnoldo? Waiting long?"

Arnold's heart jumped at the familiar and much missed nickname and turned around with a huge smile. He could see that Helga also went the casual route with her outfit. But she still looked amazing. Tight low-cut jeans hugged her hips, the heavy metal t-shirt she wore had been ripped into a midriff, and her hair was messily tousled, falling almost but not quite to her shoulders.

"Hey Helga," Arnold's voice came out breathless, he cleared it quickly, "um, glad you could make it. So what movie were you thinking about seeing?"

"That new space fantasy certainly looks interesting."

Arnold blinked and realized that he hadn't even noticed Phoebe standing there too. He did his best to keep his smile on his face and not look disappointed, but by the growing smirk on Helga's face he knew that she had done this on person.

"Well if you think it might be good, then we should see it," he made a point to smile at Phoebe in order to not to be rude.

At the ticket window, Helga and Phoebe both reached for their money but Arnold gave the cashier his money first. Phoebe thanked him politely and Helga rolled her eyes. Once inside he headed straight for the concession stand and found Phoebe standing with him while Helga hung back.

"Arnold, I want to apologize for intruding on your _rendezvous_ with Helga," there was a twinkle in her eyes when she said the word rendezvous like it was a secret code or something, "I hope you understand though that Helga's been a bit... wary of hanging out with people lately."

Arnold nodded and tried to be understanding. He knew Phoebe was talking about the guys that had started pestering Helga post hair change. Guys that hadn't looked twice at Helga, or had to only to call her something nasty. He wondered what Helga might have confided in her best friend.

"Phoebe, you know I'm not like those guys, right?" He glanced over at Helga who was looking at her phone impatiently, "I care about Helga. I always have, you know that right?"

"Hmm, I don't know about always..."

Arnold turned to her in shock but the line moved up and it was suddenly his turn to order. He felt proud that after all this time he still remember his and Helga's usual. A large tub of popcorn, a box of Reese's pieces to mix, and a large cherry cola. After Phoebe bought herself a soda, they met with Helga and entered the screening room where their movie would play. Inside, Arnold felt a flutter of nervousness that Helga or maybe Phoebe herself would try to prevent Arnold from sitting with Helga, but he was please and relieved when Helga ended up sitting between them. The trailers were just starting so the theater was still filled with whispered conversation and phone flashes.

"Hey," Arnold whispered to Helga, holding up the popcorn and the Reese's', "Still your favorite right?"

Helga's lip twitched up in a reluctant but very much there smile, "You remembered?"

"Of course," He chuckled, "I remember it being the weirdest thing I ever heard of."

Helga's lips drew together, "Says the guy who puts hot sauce on mangos."

"You loved it and you know it!"

"I admit, it's not the strangest thing I've ever eaten in your house."

Someone impatiently shushed them from behind. Helga started to raise her hand to give them a middle finger salute, but Arnold quickly covered her hand with his own, trying to smother down a laugh while Phoebe whispered an apology. Helga allowed Arnold's hand to remain on hers for a total of three seconds before pulling her hand out from his. It was dark in the theatre so Arnold couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a light blush on her face.

The theatre dimmed after the last trailer played and the movie began. The popcorn and candy mixed together created a sweet and salty and nutty taste that was pretty addicting. In the past, Arnold remembered that he and Helga would sometimes be close to fighting over this delicious treat, and now he could see that it was no different. Every time he took a handful, she was quick to take some too. Arnold threw her a look and shoved another handful in his mouth. Helga returned his look with a raised eyebrow and shoved another handful in her own mouth. Both of their mouths were full, but it was as if they were afraid if they stopped eating for too long, the other would eat all the salty, chocolatey goodness first. It actually happened to Arnold once, he had been more invested in the movie than eating and missed out.

"You too are going to choke if you keep that up," Phoebe whispered over to them.

"I'll stop when he stops," came Helga's muffled reply.

"You stared it," Arnold whispered back, but slowed down his chewing.

Helga did the same and, probably falling on old habits, gestured towards the drink on in Arnold's cup holder. He didn't think anything of it when he handed it to her. They usually shared drinks when going to the movies together. But when she handed the drink back to him, he did notice the faint line of shiny pink around the straw. She was wearing lip gloss. Arnold nearly melted. He didn't know how he didn't notice it before, but Helga was wearing lip gloss for him. He refused to believe that there was any other explanation. Helga had told him before that she hated makeup and the only girls who wore makeup were the ones trying to impress guys.

 _I guess she's trying to impress me then._ Arnold grinned at the thought (Helga actually wanted to impress _him_!), but also it made his heart shrink a little. He didn't want Helga to think that she had to do something she hated just to impress him. Still, he couldn't resist leaning closer to her.

 _Oh God, she smells so good!_ Arnold quickly snapped back to his original position, feeling the blood rush to his face. Vanilla and some flower. Not too sweet but subtle. He didn't know if the scent came from her hair (looking soft as always now) or if she was wearing perfume. What he did know though, was that now he had a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair. He had to laugh a little at himself at that fantasy. Even when they were close friends Helga had hated affection. The closest he ever got was tugging on her pigtails like a second grader.

"The CGI in this is crazy, isn't it?" Helga's whisper next to his ear made him jump. He noticed the movie for the first time in a while and saw that one of the characters was on some futuristic space bike thing and was careening wildly though a futuristic city. The camera tracking and heavy CGI made everything look blurry and unstable to Arnold. Phoebe looked enraptured but Helga's blue eyes glinted in amusement.

"I feel nauseous," Helga chuckled, "They should have given us barf bags."

"I've seen Gerald play videogames with better graphics than this," Arnold whispered back.

Helga giggled and this time it was Phoebe who shushed them. Arnold mouthed "sorry" to her, but he felt anything but. Helga settled down again as the action settled down again. The two heroes of the movie, a guy and girl police officers get separated and the guy desperately searches for the girl.

"Hey," Helga whispered and nudged Arnold's arm, "how much you wanna bet that they end up together because of this?"

"What do you mean?" Arnold whispered back.

"You know," Helga rolled her eyes and gestured to the screen, "the girl is in danger (even though she's supposed to be a no-nonsense sergeant), the guy has to save and realizes that he was in love with her all along."

Arnold laughed. Helga's expression showed exactly what she thought about that old trope. Arnold though, being a romantic, was a little more forgiving.

"Well sometimes it takes something big to make someone realize they truly care about someone. I think it just proves how much he's willing to go through for her."

"But he should be trying to save them because she's his partner, not because he wants to get into her pants."

Feeling a bit bold, and maybe a little crazy, Arnold allowed himself to lean a little closer to her and winked, "Maybe he just loves her."

Helga rolled her eyes and pushed Arnold away from her, "You're such a sap."

"You know you love me."

Arnold meant it as a joke, but Helga's face suddenly changes. It isn't a big change, and in the dimness of the theatre he almost doesn't see it, but he does. It's the subtle way her lips thin that tells him that he said something he shouldn't have. He wants to ask, to apologize, to figure out what he did wrong, but Arnold knows Helga well enough that the best move would be to only make a mental note of this and change the subject.

"It's almost like watching two separate characters, isn't it?" He asked, "In the beginning of the film she's smart, skilled, and efficient and now she can't even see that she's about to get eaten and needs to be rescued?"

A small smirk perked up Helga's lips and her eyes flitted back to him, "We both know that real strong females are too intimidating for main stream audiences."

This time Arnold spoke deliberately, "I like strong females."

He was completely caught off guard by her swift and secretive punch to his arm and he barely managed to suppress his yelp of pain. But just as Helga smirked triumphantly, she had to suppress a yelp of her own as Phoebe pinched her.

"If you two don't stop whispering," Phoebe whispered harshly, "I'm walking out of this theater right now."

To be honest, Arnold didn't think that'd be such a terrible loss (he could spend all day with just Helga and not need anyone else), but he whispered yet another "sorry" echoed by Helga.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After the lack luster ending (of course the guy and the girl got together) and the credits finished rolling, the three of them stood outside in the cooling weather. As waiting for Phoebe's ride, she gently berated them for their constant talking.

"I swear you two are impossible to watch a movie with," Phoebe huffed, "Helga, you've always been bad, but Arnold you seem to exasperate the problem."

"I'm really sorry Phoebe," Arnold tried to sound genuine but he felt too giddy to be really sorry.

Helga though, was much less apologetic, "Oh, relax Pheebs. This has been the most fun I've had all week. Give us a break."

"Hmph, giving. But only because I haven't seen you smile like this in a while," Phoebe's eyes took on a knowing glint.

There was a soft beep down the street and they turned to see Mrs. Heyerdahl waving at them and pulled up to the curb. Phoebe opened the door and looked back at Helga.

"Would you still like a ride, Helga? Or..." Her eyes flickered over to Arnold, "Do you perhaps have other plans?"

Helga glanced at him and Arnold felt his heart speed up hopefully. But then Helga dawned her teasing smirk, "Nah, let's go Phoebe."

Arnold tried not to look too disappointed and smiled at them both, "You two have a great night."

"You too, Arnold," Phoebe laughed, probably at his expense. There was no telling what she and Helga would talk about when he was out of earshot. Helga only returned his farewell with a wave.

As the Heyerdahl car drove down the street and disappeared around the corner, Arnold started home in the opposite direction. He counted the night a success despite the few hiccups. He made Helga laugh, that was important. And he did his best not to just hit on her like the creeps who had been hovering around her lately. The only thing he wished was that he could walk Helga home alone. Arnold was confident that if could be alone with her, they'd really be able to talk. That's probably what he missed most about Helga, their long talks that would hover between soulful or playful at the tip of a hat. Suddenly his phone vibrated and Arnold pulled it out to see a new text message from Helga.

 **Helga: You're still a football head. XP**

 **Helga: Don't think I haven't forgotten about our movie bet.**

 **Helga: You owe me a burger.**

Arnold smiled. He didn't feel the need to point out to Helga that their "bet" hadn't been a real one, just a figure of speech. But he did seem to him that Helga wanted to spend more time with him. Happily, Arnold replied.

 **Arnold: Whatever you say, Helga.**

* * *

 **A/N- I'm a bit rusty but I'd thought I'd give this story another go. Please review and tell me what you think and PM me if you have any suggestions. I could use all the help I can get on finally finish this story and add plenty of fluffy Shortaki along the way. Thanks guys.**


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